RMX SKIJORING COMES TO MINTURN, COLORADO
Extreme Winter Sporting Event Set for Thursday, February 5, 2015 in Minturn, Colorado, features horses pulling skiers in a dramatic race to the finish over a snow covered course.
MINTURN, CO January 21, 2015 ~ The Town of Minturn and Skijor International announce the fourth annual skijoring event to be held on Thursday, February 5, 2015 from 12 noon to 4 pm with awards, cash prizes and entertainment to follow at 5 pm at The Minturn Saloon.
Exhibition and practice runs to be held Wednesday, February 4, 2015 from 1 pm to 3 pm with a Calcutta and entertainment at The Minturn Saloon at 7:30 pm.
Skijoring has been the undisputed top winter attraction in Minturn for the past three years. This year in particular, RMX Skijoring will deliver an unparalleled, one-of-a-kind experience to the Vail Valley during the highly publicized and widely anticipated FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.
Teams of riders, horses and skiers, will be traveling over 500 miles and representing states throughout the Rocky Mountain region such as Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico and South Dakota to compete in what will be a landmark event.
Imagine a horse rearing up, then suddenly accelerating from zero to 40 in just three strides right before your eyes. Image a skier grasping a 30 foot hemp rope and being towed over a snow covered course, landing 6-8 foot jumps and capturing rings with a lance made from a sawed off ski pole. Imagine the 800″ straight away lined with thousands of cheering spectators as the snow and ice fly.
Welcome to RMX Skijoring, the glorious clash of two counter cultures, extreme ski and Western rodeo.
The Town of Minturn and Skijor International invite news correspondents, television crews, sports organizations, business owners, community groups and individuals to attend one of the most thrilling, action packed, “down home” Colorado style events on the 2015 FIS Calendar. Show your support for not only the athletes, but also for the charities affiliated with the event, Vail Veterans Program and Mountain Valley Horse Rescue. For more information please contact Loren Zhimanskova at info@rmxskijoring.com or (646) 209-0229.
About The History of Skijoring
The Altai Region, which currently lies in Russia, but is in very close proximity to Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia, is commonly accepted as the first place skiers first strapped on boards.
The first reference to skijoring (an activity in which a skier is pulled by an animal) was documented thousands of years ago by a Persian historian during the Yuan and Ming dynasties of China (1271-1644).
The European form of Skijoring, first behind reindeer and then a horse, became popular in Scandinavian countries at the turn of the 20th Century and was originally employed in carrying army dispatches.
By the early 1900’s, the French and Swiss were offering skijoring behind a horse as a recreational activity to Brits visiting the Alps, and in 1907, the Swiss established a winter event called White Turf which introduced skijoring as a competitive sport.
In 1928, skijoring was included as an exhibition sport at the Winter Olympics in Saint Moritz, Switzerland.
In the Rocky Mountain west, skijoring had its start with men who had served in WWII, most notably in the famous 10th Mountain Division. These men missed skiing, and, as there were no ski resorts or lifts in those days, they simply had their cowboy friends attach a long rope to their saddle horn. Then, they had them ride their horses at high speeds while towing their buddies behind.
In the 1970’s, had Denver accepted the Olympic bid, skijoring might have once again been included as an exhibition sport.
The first American skijoring races where held over 50 years ago in Steamboat and Leadville, Colorado and Whitefish, Montana.
In 2015, there are 15 equine skijoring events in the race circuit as well as events in Quebec and British Columbia, Canada.
The 2015 RMX Skijoring event will be the first race to acknowledge the horses as athletes in their own right and reward their performance by including them in the prize purse.
Skijoring events usually include a Calcutta, a method of gambling practiced by British expats in India, in which people bet on teams.